


this one heart feels so warm

by psharp10



Category: EXO (Band), SHINee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M, a lil bit of smut (with no penetration), also all dogs are puppies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-24 18:45:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7519192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psharp10/pseuds/psharp10
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's something really heartwarming and so entirely <i>domestic</i> about sleepily standing side by side, brushing teeth in front of the sink and smiling while looking at each other in the mirror. And Jongin's so weak, <i>so weak</i>, for these soft moments. He feels his heart simultaneously melt and burst with warmth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	this one heart feels so warm

**Author's Note:**

> written for taekai fest originally, over [here](http://kaitaem.livejournal.com/20023.html) for this prompt:
> 
> #24 taekai domestic!au with taeoh with lots of fluff and smut
> 
> original notes:
> 
> firstly a huge thank you to the mods for being so generous with the extension and accommodating and dealing with my late ass :( secondly, ty to mon and mara for helping me develop this fic with more ideas and reassuring me about the characterization -- i had a lot of fun writing this and hopefully this is enjoyable!
> 
> title from tao's song 'one heart'  
> also this is my first taekai fic so i'm sorry if anything's not as taekai as it should be :|

“Taeoh-ya,” Taemin calls out, a piece of meat held between his chopsticks and his fighting stance ready. “Come here and eat your food~”

Taeoh’s been acting whiny the whole afternoon, barely eating anything. Every time Taemin has tried to offer any kind of food, Taeoh has rejected it all. Instead, he’s been asking for _Jonginnie appa_ to come feed him.

“Nooo~” Taeoh complains, drawing out and lilting the word as he waddles into the dining room with his Iron Man plushie tightly and securely held under one arm. “I want Jonginnie appa to feed me.”

“Taeoh-ya,” Taemin tries again, shifting around so that he’s kneeling in front of the toddler now. “Think about how happy Jonginnie appa would be when he comes home and sees that Taeoh has eaten his food!”

Taeoh pouts, even as his eyes shift to look at the meat in between the chopsticks.

Taemin grins.

“It’s meat Taeoh,” Taemin tries his best sweet sounding voice. “You like meat don’t you?”

Unknowingly, as if in a trance, Taeoh nods, taking one step forward, before he realizes what he’s done and quickly shakes his head in succession.

"Here," Taemin coos, bringing the chopsticks forward. "Just one piece~"

And Taeoh begrudgingly gives in, although the way he eagerly takes the meat into his mouth and chews it contrasts his superficial reluctance.

Ten minutes later, Taemin sits on a chair next to Taeoh's high chair, feeding him small, messily cut up pieces of meat and trying to sneak in a small vegetable piece in between every once in a while. He's somewhat successful, so Taemin counts that as a victory.

The rest of the food can always be given to their three dogs, who’ve been looking at the exchange, the passing pieces of meat with eager eyes, following the meat’s journey from being in between Taemin’s chopsticks to going into Taeoh’s mouth.

A few hours later, when Jongin comes home, Taeoh is still in the middle of his nap, tired out from the food and after playing around with his Iron Man plushie, the puppies and Taemin, who became _Taeminnie appa_ once the food had made a hungry and disgruntled Taeoh into a happier Taeoh.

He notices his kid first, who's sleeping peacefully on the couch, tightly clutching his favorite plushie. Jongin feels a smile pull at the corner of his lips as his gaze shifts to the man who's also seemingly fallen asleep, his head tipping back and resting on the couch, mouth falling open slightly, with Jjangah in his lap, resting peacefully too. At that, Jongin's smile turns into a full blown, wide and bright toothy grin.

He would love to watch this scene for a bit longer, but business comes first.

So Jongin takes out his phone, keeping his bag down as quietly as he can on the ground, and then moves, his socked feet on the wooden flooring sliding easily and silently. He makes sure to get the worst— _best_ —angles that he can when he snaps away the pictures of Taemin for...possibly necessary future objectives. Blackmail purposes. Same difference.

"Mfhfhmfhm," Taemin groans, bleary eyed and wiping the small bit of dried up drool from the corner of his lips when he feels a finger poke his shoulder. "Jongin?"

His voice is rough, sleep filled and perfect, Jongin thinks. The mussed up hair and droopy eyes soften his husband's features, and he becomes just about ten times cuter.

"How was your day alone," Jongin whispers, leaning down to press a soft kiss on Taemin's cheek, "with Taeoh?"

Taemin groans, "Of course you ask about your child first."

Jongin chuckles, offering Taemin a hand and helping him stand up after Jjangah, a bit drowsy and disgruntled at losing her warm and comfortable spot, has been set on the ground next to the other two dogs who’re still fast asleep.

"I mean," Jongin whispers as Taemin leans his head on his husband's shoulder, tired and sleepy and Jongin's shoulder is so, _so_ comfortable. "He's your child too, you know?"

"Yeah, but he just wants his Jonginnie appa all the time," Taemin sniffs, mock offense and sadness seeping into his words and actions. "Poor Taeminnie appa... neither his husband nor his kid appreciate him enough. Only the puppies, only they care about me.”

“As long as you’re gone.” Taemin adds after pause of contemplation, looking at his husband with exaggerated betrayal.

Jongin raises his hand to cover his mouth at that, muffling his laughter, which just makes Taemin pout more exaggeratedly. An eyebrow raised, following the pout, as if to say, _really? proving my point much?_

Jongin shakes his head slightly at Taemin's antics, and then brings his hand up to softly keep Taemin's head on his shoulder as he cards his fingers through Taemin's hair and pets him comfortingly.

"Hmm, I'm sure Taeoh loves you just enough," Jongin lowers his voice once again, aware of their kid sleep as the toddler shifts on the couch a bit, adjusting and getting comfortable again. "He continues to babble on and on about you whenever I'm with him."

Taemin makes a small noise in acknowledgment.

"Plus, you bought him that Iron Man soft toy," Jongin continues. "And he never lets go of it."

Taemin acquiesces at that. “True. I do make it a tough case. He just can't not love me, I'm too lovable."

Jongin's unable to hide or hold back his laughter this time, and it wakes Taeoh up, who rubs his eyes with his small hands.

“Appa!” Taeoh's eyes immediately brighten up when he notices that his other father's returned and then reaches out for him, stretching his arms.

Jongin responds immediately, bending and picking Taeoh up, cooing, "how's my favorite son?"

Taemin, mock discontented look back up on his face, grumbles softly in the back, "he's your _only_ son," which is ignored by both his husband and kid.

 

-

 

 

They agree to do this every other weekend. Jongin's parents and Taemin's parents alternate between who gets to take care of Taeoh over the two days, and take the dogs for a while too—Taeoh loves them too much, just like Jongin—, so that the two husbands can have some free time for just themselves.

Sometimes Jonghyun pops in, out of nowhere*, begging that he can take good care of Taeoh, so just, how about for one day? He'll make sure that Taeoh has a lot of fun and doesn't miss his two appas.

*(Not really nowhere as Junmyeon makes sure to bump his shoulder lightly with Jonghyun’s, remind him about texting Taemin to make sure that they know that Taeoh will be staying over with Junmyeon and Jonghyun for the weekend.)

And well, Taeoh really loves staying over with uncle Jonghyun and uncle Junmyeon. Or maybe it's just that he gets to play with more puppies, as Jongin's dogs are also taken by Jonghyun and Junmyeon whenever they babysit Taeoh, which adds to their already growing number of dogs, but either way, Taeoh enjoys his time with the two, so what's there to really mind.

This saturday, it's also Jonghyun and Junmyeon's turn—so they come over early at seven thirty in the morning— _too early_ , Jongin whines and rolls over on the bed, pushing Taemin to go open the door and let them in.

And Taemin easily obliges, used to this by now, rubbing his eyes as he drags his feet down the hallway and towards the front door. As he unlocks the door, he can already hear the two on the other side whisper bickering and he chuckles, they haven't really changed since their college days.

"Why do you guys always come so early?" Taemin asks, opening the door and leaning on it as he lets the two in.

"No greetings? Where have your nonexistent manners disappeared off to Taemin-ah?" Jonghyun's voice teasingly lilts as he walks in, his pinky linked with Junmyeon's—so grossly domestic, in Taemin's opinion.

"Good morning, hyung~" Taemin coos in a sickeningly sweet voice, fluttering his eyelashes at Jonghyun as he closes the door behind him. "Are you here to take away my kid and my dogs?"

But neither Jonghyun nor Junmyeon pay attention to him, already too enamored with Jjangah, Jjanggu and Monggu who are licking at their hands, butting their heads to get more pets and scratches behind their ears, their tails happily wagging at the abundance of attention. Taemin sighs, shakes his head and shuffles to Taeoh's room, Junmyeon and Jonghyun will be plenty occupied with dogs.

"Taeoh-ya," Taemin whispers in a soft, singsong voice as he quietly opens the door, turning on the light only to find the toddler having fallen asleep with his overnight backpack in his arms. Taemin feels his heart melt into a puddle of goo and his son's cute sleeping face, the bed messy and a few clothes strewn on the floor.

He's taken completely after Jongin, especially with the messiness, and Taemin feels his love for both his husband and his son increase tenfold with the scene in front of him. He quietly walks over to Taeoh and ruffles the toddler's hair, gently removing the small backpack and lifting Taeoh up in his arms. the toddler sniffles a bit but then just burrows his face into Taemin's neck instead of waking up, wrapping his arms tightly around his father’s neck.

Taemin picks up the small backpack and another overnight bag that's resting beside the bed and then walks out the room, carrying Taeoh in his arms. By now, all three dogs have their leashes attached to the collars, and Jjangah’s suspiciously wagging her tail as she attempts to sneakily entangle Junmyeon's legs in her leash. Taemin snickers when he notices her, Junmyeon's hands already full with the three overexcited dogs.

Jonghyun's eyes light up when he notices the sleeping toddler and rushes to help Taemin out, gently taking Taeoh from the younger's arms and then slinging the bags over his free shoulder.

"Have a fun weekend Taeoh-ya," Taemin whispers, leaning down to press a soft kiss on his son's forehead and then waving goodbye as Jonghyun and Junmyeon take their leave.

It's going to be a long weekend. It's been a while since Taeoh slept over at someone else's house for the two days, as he'd ended up staying with Jongin and Taemin for the past two weekends - one with an outing to the zoo and another to the amusement park.

Taemin lazily slugs back into the bedroom, stopping on the way to get an extra bottle of water from the kitchen, to find his husband still passed out and peacefully sleeping under the covers. For the second time this morning, Taemin feels his heart fill up to the seams, wanting to burst with the happiness he feels.

 

-

 

 

It takes another three hours for both of them to wake up, actually eat some food and get ready.

Taemin lies in the bed, staring at the ceiling as he contemplates whether breakfast should come first or shower. Jongin butts his head softly against Taemin's arms, raises it slightly and then lets his head rest against Taemin's chest, eyes half lidded as he sleepily smiles at his husband.

"Breakfast first," Jongin mumbles, shaking his head minutely to get the hair out of his eyes. His tummy follows up the request with a telltale grumble and Taemin chuckles.

"Mhm, okay," he replies to his husband's request, pats Jongin's arm and then sits up. "But brush your teeth first, your morning breath is horrible."

Jongin groans and counters back, "Please, as if yours isn't worse."

He then reaches forward and smacks Taemin's boxer clad ass as the latter gets out of bed. Taemin yelps and Jongin snickers, rolling over on the bed and hiding under the covers before Taemin can come back and retaliate.

 

-

 

 

There's something really heartwarming and so entirely _domestic_ about sleepily standing side by side, brushing teeth in front of the sink and smiling while looking at each other in the mirror. And Jongin's so weak, _so weak_ , for these soft moments. He feels his heart simultaneously melt and burst with warmth.

He leans his head on Taemin's shoulder, letting himself be a bit shorter with one knee bent and when the foam gets too heavy, Taemin bumps Jongin's hip with his own, reminding him to go spit it out before it spills on Taemin's shirt.

Neither of the two are much good at cooking, but over the years, they've come to at least... _improve_ their techniques and skills slightly, whether with marathoning food shows at night or trying out ~~usually disastrous~~ new recipes. So they divide up their work. Jongin cuts the fruits and Taemin sets up the rice cooker, measuring out how much rice they'll need, cleaning it and filling up the cooker with enough water before starting it.

It's a relatively quiet time, but the soft hum of the rice cooker and the sharp tap of Jongin's knife hitting the chopping board as he cuts the apples and peaches fill up the room. Once the rice cooker is set up, Taemin goes to get some of readymade roasted seaweed sheets and the bamboo mat. He also pulls out the rest of the ingredients, some from the refrigerator and the rest from cupboards in the kitchen. Handing some to Jongin to cut up, he sets up the rest, ready to make the kimbap once the rice is done.

The cooker indicates another twenty minutes so Taemin wraps his arms around Jongin's waist, raises himself up on his tiptoes slightly and rests his chin on Jongin's shoulder, watching his husband now move on to cut the pickled radish into strips.

"You can cook the rest of the stuff you know," Jongin says, leaning a bit back into his husband's embrace.

"All already ready," Taemin replies, pressing a kiss against Jongin's neck, right below his ear. “Kyungsoo had dropped them off yesterday after I had called him up."

"Hmm," Jongin hums and then laughs silently, his shoulders shaking a bit and Taemin smiles along. "He must get tired of our requests, don't you think?"

"Hey, we only called him twice this whole week," Taemin presents his side of the argument. "That's a win, in my opinion~"

“Now _that_ , I can agree with," Jongin readily accepts and then begins on chopping the kimchi.

 

-

 

 

Breakfast goes by quickly enough, even with their lazy and slow cooking that results in two rolls of messily made and cut kimbaps. With a full and sated stomach, Jongin fits his fingers with Taemin's, palms warm as their hands fit together, and pulls his husband to the shower.

It's been a while, since they could have some _alone_ time, and Jongin wants to make the most of it. Taemin too, no doubt. And when they get in the bathroom, door locked even if no one else is home, it's a quick affair. Whatever minimal clothes they were wearing are taken off, thrown to the side and a few kisses stolen in between as Jongin starts the shower and Taemin makes sure that there are two towels waiting for them.

The water is lukewarm but Taemin still shivers when he feels Jongin mouthing wet kisses along his neck, hands roaming all over his body. When Jongin pulls back, resting his forehead against Taemin's, holding his husband close, with a grin so familiar, Taemin feels his heart pang.

The wet hair and the bright smile, eyes too soft, too full of love, bring forth a surge of nostalgia—but of a good kind. It reminds Taemin of their late nights, staying back in the dance studio at college, with whispers of _one more dance_ replied with _make it two, hmm?_ and there's really no one else, no one who understands him better than Jongin. No one whom he understands better than Jongin. Cheesy as it is to say or admit, but they're made for each other.

"You're thinking of sappy things again, aren't you?" Jongin whispers, his eyes briefly flickering down to Taemin's lips before they refocus on his face. "You have that look on your face."

"Shush," Taemin counters, leaning forward and nipping at Jongin's bottom lip and then licking into his mouth, slowly, enjoying the feeling of their mouths sliding against each other, Jongin's hot breath making him feel hotter in the already warm shower.

And more than fucking, more than making love, Taemin loves this—the slow slide of their lips, the way his tongue feels over Jongin’s soft lips, the way Jongin’s lips curve up in a smile because, _ah, I just thought about how much I love you_ , and it’s greasy as fuck, probably some parts romantic too, but Taemin wants to curl his fingers, cringe away the embarrassment, except it’s all okay when it’s Jongin. Because it’s Jongin.

Jongin’s hands are warm, comforting on his hips, thumbs rubbing soft circles into the hipbones. Pulling on Jongin’s bottom lip, Taemin jerks forward, letting his erection brush against Jongin’s, moaning into the kiss because the friction feels so, so good. Jongin gasps, when Taemin’s lips slide over his jaw, wet kisses becoming wetter under the shower and he rolls his hips, continuing off where Taemin’s jerk left them.

This too, is reminiscent of their dance classes, mostly their late night practices—just the two of them, alone in the room, breathing slightly heavy after one too many times of dancing the routines, sweat dripping down their foreheads, down the stretch of their necks and dark eyes gazing at each other in mirror, but with contrasting, soft smiles.

Jongin can almost feel the choreography on his fingertips as they skitter around Taemin’s fluttering abdominal muscles, remember the steps on his feet as he toes at Taemin’s feet with his own, giggling when he hears a noise of protest come from Taemin.

“ _Jongin_ ,” Taemin whines, and then gasps when he feels Jongin flick his nipple, causing his dick to twitch as he presses closer to Jongin, eagerly rubs his erection against his husband’s. “Ah— _fuck_ , stop teasing and kidding around Jongin-ah.”

“But that’s where all the fun is,” Jongin replies, mocking Taemin’s whining tone, and then smiles so widely at him, still teasing.

Taemin lets out another groan, muffled by him pressing his face into Jongin’s neck, and Jongin follows up with another little breathless laughter, letting his hands travel down to Taemin’s back, caress the slope of his ass and then tease at his rim.

Taemin bites down on Jongin’s shoulder at the touch, eliciting a soft moan from his husband.

“ _Fucking hell_ ,” Taemin breathes out, his legs suddenly feeling weaker. “Jongin, I swear to—“

Jongin promptly interrupts Taemin’s babbling with another kiss, remembers the countless hip thrusts and rolls one of their teachers had liked to add in their dance choreographies, copying boy group song covers, and with hands supporting Taemin’s waist, he guides his husband to lean on the wall, so that Jongin can work on getting them both off more easily.

The water is warm and Taemin’s fingers slip as they trip to grip onto Jongin’s shoulders, and then his waist. Jongin gives it his all—he always does—and even the crude rutting seems like dancing. Maybe even a couple’s dance, with the way Taemin responds to each roll, each slide of their erections. His back arches, mouth open and lips too wet, his feet feel like they’ll slip and he’ll fall but Jongin’s there—has always been there, will always be there—with his hands firm and supporting.

And when he comes, the white liquid gets easily washed away in seconds under the water and Jongin follows soon after, adding his own cum to their chests and then letting it get washed away. They rest against the wall in their embrace for a while, and then Jongin laughs, nuzzling his face into Taemin’s neck.

“Hmm?” Taemin hums, feeling too lazy and sated to bother with a better reply, a better question.

“Nothing,” Jongin whispers back, kissing his way up to Taemin’s mouth. “I love you.”

It was a bit embarrassing at first—those three words—but it’s easier now, especially in moments like these, when everything feels a bit too overwhelming but also really comforting. And Taemin lets them fill up his heart, lets the smile spread on his face even as he scrunches his nose and makes a cringing face at his husband.

“Love you too,” Taemin replies quickly, and then lets his lips do the rest of the talking against Jongin’s lips.

 

-

 

 

The rest of the day goes by peacefully with them ordering in fried chicken— _it’s the weekend_ , Jongin had whined, even though he didn’t even need to try and convince Taemin about this, _let us eat a bit unhealthily_ —and opening up two bottles of soju from the pack they keep hidden in the back of their fridge, behind all the vegetables. There’s some idol dance show contest coming on the tv and Taemin finds himself relaxing into Jongin’s side as he watches the kids on screen dance.

Taemin can almost feel the energy thrum underneath his fingertips, the beat moving in his body and softly urging him to dance along too. But it’s not that strong anymore, not as it was back in college when both him and Jongin were participating in dance shows regularly.

There’s a time and place for everything, memories that are built and kept safe and Taemin’s come to learn, in his years, that you continue have to new dreams, once the past ones are accomplished, and that it’s _okay_.

They’d dealt with it before, when Jongin had injured his back one too many times, the stifling fear that crawled up his spine and wrapped itself around his throat, making it hard to breathe. Taemin had been there, even when Jongin had felt like puking, whispering out that, _no, you don’t know, you haven’t lost dancing yet, I have_ , because both him and Jongin had known, that no matter what, they both knew each other too well, knew how the other felt even in drastically different circumstances.

Jongin had learnt to accept that dancing would always be there in his life, even if not as prominent as before, and he’d gone for his other dreams—found new ones and worked his way towards achieving them.

And when Taemin had opened up his dance studio, he’d let Jongin have the first dance in there, eyes sparkling and smile bright as he’d seen Jongin manage the simpler choreography so well, made even the little twists and turns look like art.

Now, as they watch the show, the young idols brimming with energy and passion as they dance their hearts out, Jongin drums his fingers along to the beat on Taemin’s thigh and Taemin hums along to some song, it’s one of his students’ favorite songs, they love dancing to it every time for cooling down after practices.

“Do you want to go to the studio tomorrow?” Taemin whispers with his mouth against Jongin’s forehead.

It wouldn’t be any hard going dance, even the simple numbers these days is fun because more than anything, now dance is more for fun, like one of those things you go back to and enjoy every once in a while. It’s something to help them let go, return to the past for a while and just cherish it for what it is.

“Mhm,” Jongin replies softly, takes another sip of the half empty bottle and lets himself shift a bit closer to Taemin, snuggle in a bit more. “Would love to.”

Taemin smiles at the reply and briefly squeeze’s Jongin’s hand, before refocusing on the show on the screen even as Jongin continues to idly play with Taemin’s fingers.

 

-

 

 

The trip to the dance studio in the morning is nice, helps Jongin wind down and relax from the heavy workload week he just had. This—the promise of dancing—is one of the only things they both willingly wake up for, early and bright and actually _awake_.

And when they return, Taemin goes to the shower first, letting Jongin eat some food in that time.

Taemin doesn’t shower for long, likes to get things done quickly, and he tosses his husband an extra towel with a subsequent pat on the butt, telling Jongin to go wash up.

While Jongin showers, Taemin lies on the bed, undressed and his legs spread open. He wraps a hand around his dick and slowly fists it, letting it harden up as his other hand works on his nipples, flicking and rubbing them. He parts his lips, lets the gasps slip out of his mouth, and lets his eyes close as he lets go.

This masturbation, it’s a sort of relieving act, not so much a sexual thing, but more of just helping him relax and feel sated. And so Taemin spreads his legs apart a bit wider, lets his hand move from his nipples to fondle his balls as the other hand’s palm rubs his head, making his body heat up, flush rising up his neck, on his cheeks.

Jongin finds him like that, on the bed, spread out and touching himself with his eyes closed and a soft expression on his face. Jongin feels a slow, small smile linger on his face as he watches his husband while drying his hair. He likes these quiet moments, only filled with Taemin’s whispering gasps and pants, easy and comfortable.

He gets dressed in a pair of clean boxers and lies down next to his husband, watching Taemin’s adam’s apple move, his small tongue reaching out to lick his lips. Jongin doesn’t need to help, can just watch, Taemin knows he’s there.

This is just for Taemin, and Jongin has his moments like this too—when rather than anything sexual, they need that feeling of satiety, of letting go—so he understands, only reaches out to help if Taemin asks for it. Otherwise he is content with just nuzzling into the crook of Taemin’s neck, sleepily peppering soft kisses along Taemin’s collarbone.

“Jongin,” Taemin whispers, moans, letting his fingers run along the length of his erection, swipe over the head, letting the precum make the slide of his hand smoother. “ _Jongin_.”

And Jongin’s right there, carding his fingers through Taemin’s hair, the other hand reaching out and intertwining his fingers with Taemin’s.

Taemin comes like that, with a soft sigh, chest heaving slightly and his cum coating his chest. His legs feel a bit weak, shake a bit in the aftershocks of the orgasm as he tries to reach for the tissue from the box on the bedside table. So Jongin gets it for him instead, wiping away the white streaks from Taemin’s stomach and then throwing the tissues over his back, somewhere in the general direction of the trashcan.

Taemin narrows his eyes as he follows the balled up tissues’ sad journey.

“Jongin.”

“Later~”

“ _Jongin_.”

“Sleep first,” Jongin mumbles, draping his leg over Taemin’s and cuddling closer.

And Taemin gives in, smiles and sighs, turning sideways so that he can cuddle better, put his head over Jongin’s so that his husband’s hair doesn’t tickle his nose anymore. Dropping a chaste kiss on his husband’s forehead and with Jongin’s face nuzzling into his chest, Taemin falls asleep.

 

-

 

 

In preparation of Taeoh coming back that night, Jongin orders takeout from one of Taeoh’s favorite restaurants—one of the healthier places—and Taemin cleans up the house, although he gives up half the way and drags Jongin along to help him because _ordering the food takes like ten minutes Jongin, I’ve done thirty minutes of work_.

Jongin whines a bit at first, tries to distract Taemin—which is fairly easy—but then ends up making them both feel guilty so they rush through to getting their home looking a bit better, doing the laundry and making themselves look presentable too, for when their son and puppies return home.

At precisely 6:30 PM, the doorbell rings and Jongin power walks, so excited to see his son again, even though it’s only been a few hours more than a day since he last saw him, and so excited to see his three little dogs too.

When he opens the door, he sees Junmyeon with Taeoh in his arms and the overnight bag over his other shoulder with no sign of Jonghyun or Jjangah, Jjanggu and Monggu.

“Hi hyung,” Jongin greets, although a bit worried with the lack of the appearance of the others. “Where’s Jonghyun hyung? And my other sons?”

Junmyeon laughs a bit, waking up Taeoh who was napping.

“Appa!” Taeoh’s eyes light up and a bright smile on his face as he sees Jongin, his arms automatically reaching out for Jongin.

Junmyeon hands him over and then explains, “Jonghyun’s taking them for a round in the park below since we already fed them before we came over, it’d be less work for you guys.”

“Ah, thank you hyung~” Jongin replies, smiling warmly at Junmyeon and stepping aside to let him into the apartment as Jongin picks up Taeoh and proceeds to give his son all of his attention.

Taeoh babbles on about his time over at _Junmyeonnie_ and _Jonghyunnie_ uncles’ house and how cute Byul and Roo were, and Jongin attentively listens, fixing Taeoh’s hair in between and asking him questions about a thing or two as Junmyeon keeps away Taeoh’s things and talks to Taemin.

Jonghyun comes up to the apartment about ten minutes later, and Taemin’s the one who opens the door for him, only to be attacked by the excited three puppies and their head butting and licking. Taemin laughs and bends down to give each of them a few pets before looking up and thanking Jonghyun.

Later, when both the uncles have left, and Taeoh’s gone to his room to arrange his toys, the two husbands begin to arrange the dinner with Taemin taking out the plates and cutlery and Jongin putting the food into microwaveable bowls to heat them up.

“You know,” Taemin speaks up as he sets down the chopsticks and the spoons next to the plate. “I was talking to Junmyeon hyung about Taeoh and he mentioned something interesting.”

“Mhm,” Jongin hums, taking out rice in bowls for each of them. “What did he say?”

“He said it took a while to teach Taeoh how to play catch,” Taemin licks his lips in between, resisting putting his hands on his waist as he looks at Jongin with a stern glare. “Because he kept on thinking that they were playing _fetch_.”

Jongin’s ears flush red and he freezes, a spoonful of rice midway to the bowl.

“Ah,” Jongin mumbles, looks down and carefully puts the rice in the bowl.

“Jongin.” And really, Taemin’s trying his best to be stern. “You know he’s your _son_ , not one of your dogs.”

“Hey,” Jongin tries to retort back. “My dogs are also my sons.”

Taemin sighs exaggeratedly and looks at Jongin with mock exasperation.

“Fine, fine,” Jongin acquiesces. “I’ll stop.”

“Good,” Taemin says, and walks over to peck Jongin’s cheek, when Taeoh suddenly comes out of his room, clutching tightly onto his Iron Man plushie, his bottom lip wobbling as if he’s about to cry.

“Appa,” he whines, looking up at both of his dads. “Taeoh’s blanket _missing_.”

And both Taemin and Jongin’s hearts skip a beat simultaneously. Well, fuck. They turn to look at each other with matching worried expressions - they both know what happened to the blanket.

In their hurriedness and stress to clean up and do laundry, they only remembered to wash their bedsheets and Taeoh’s blanket, dirty and in serious need of washing, lies in their segregated laundry pile.

“Taeoh-ya,” Taemin squats down to look at his son eye-to-eye. His hand comes up to gently card through Taeoh’s hair. “Want to sleep with Jonginnie appa and me today? Appa made a mistake and forgot to wash your blanket.”

Taeoh’s eyes grow wide at the prospect of sleeping with his appas—he still sometimes crawls into their bed halfway through the night, clutching onto his favorite blanket and snuggling in between his Jonginnie and Taeminnie appa—and pouting a bit, still sad about the blanket, he gives in and agrees. The smile that blooms on Taemin’s face makes Taeoh smile too, giggle as his appa lifts up him and rubs their noses together.

Jongin joins them a moment later, dropping a kiss on Taeoh’s cheek and telling them that dinner’s ready, and that it’s Taeoh’s favorite, which brightens up the toddler’s mood even more.

When the mention of chicken bones is brought up, the ears of the three puppies perk up and Taeoh declares that he’d divide up the bones equally between the three to give to them. Jongin and Taemin easily agree and then watch their son determinedly separate the bones into three plates.

Jongin wraps his arms around Taemin’s back, rests his head on his husband’s shoulder and asks, “should we get another puppy?” while they watch their son surrounded by the three dogs and their tails eagerly wagging at the prospect of food.

“Why?” Taemin asks back, a cheeky tone lacing his voice. “You’re going to miss playing catch with Taeoh, so you need another son or daughter?”

“ _Taemin_ ,” Jongin whines, huffing and hiding his face by leaning his forehead on his husband’s shoulder.


End file.
